Women's Volleyball

MIT Finishes as Runner-Up at Hiram Invitational

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - The women's volleyball team's successful season continued this past weekend at the Hiram College Invitational in Hiram, Ohio. MIT opened the weekend by blanking Geneva College (30-22, 30-20, 30-21) but then fell to the host Terriers (30-19, 30-23, 31-29). The Engineers bounced back by outlasting Saint Mary's College (Ind.) (29-31, 30-23, 30-25, 21-30, 15-13) and sweeping Thiel College (30-24, 30-22, 30-28). Senior libero Carrie Buchanan represented MIT (6-1) on the All-Tournament Team.

Katie Rowe recorded a solid hitting performance against Geneva as she amassed 13 kills with one error on 25 attempts for a .480 hitting percentage. Rose Zhong notched her third career double-double with a team-high 20 digs to go along with 11 kills. Katrina Ellison added eight kills with one error on 18 tries (.389) while Jenny Li contributed seven kills. Buchanan and Lindsay Hunting reached double-figures in digs, finishing with 20 and 17, as Amanda Morris dished out 36 assists.

In Friday's nightcap versus Hiram, Rowe and Ellison each posted nine kills while Zhong and Li tallied eight apiece. Buchanan collected 20 digs and accounted for four of the Engineers' five aces. Zhong and Hunting bolstered MIT's defense with 16 and 12 digs, respectively, as Morris notched another 36-assist outing.

Emily Obert paced the Engineers' attack with 18 kills in their five-game thriller against Saint Mary's. Rowe added 16 kills and a .441 hitting performance as Li tallied 11 kills and three blocks. Buchanan anchored the defense with 28 digs while Zhong picked up her second double-double of the weekend with 13 digs and 10 kills. Cathy Melnikow totaled a career-high 13 digs as Morris collected 60 assists and 12 digs.

MIT carried the momentum into its final match of the weekend versus Thiel. Rowe and Li were dominant at the net as they each totaled five blocks and notched 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Buchanan led the charge from the back row with 14 digs while Hunting, Morris, Zhong, and Melnikow each added eight. Morris and Ellison both contributed four blocks as Morris tallied 36 assists.